Safety door retainer with latch



14, 1956 s. M. DIXON 2,758,864

SAFETY DOOR RETAINER WITH LATCH Filed March 16, 1955 Samuel M. Dixon INVEN TOR.

WW FM SAFETY noon RETAINER WIVTH LATCH Samuel M. Dixon, Oklahoma \Oklia,Application March 16, 1953, Serial No. 3 2,419 3 Claims. (Cl. 292-502) FThe present invention relates to motor vehicle body constructions,generally comprehended, and has reference to certain new and usefulimprovements in a vehicle door and jamb construction, particularlyspecial safeguarding retainer means which is interposed and operativelymounted between the jamb and free swingable z to said face and a head inspaced parallelism relative to said face, and a companion femalecouplingunit comprising a plate conformable in size and shape with saidfirst plate and being adapted to be fixed to the free edge portion of adoor, that face of said second named plate which is opopsed to thecomplemental face of said first edge of the door, when the latter isclosed, and which tended limit, this as a result of sudden violentrebound 1 shock, forcible collision or similar disrupting stresses andstrains.

The ordinarily employed door latching means is reliably effective whenfully latched, especially when the safety catch means is applied and,therefore, under normal conditions presently provided latchingmechanisms are regarded as safe and reliable. It is apparent, however,that it is quite possible for the latch bolt or other keeper to pull outof its shouldered keeper seat if an abnormal space is suddenly caused topresent itself if the jamb parts from the door by being deformed orsprung beyond intended limit. Depending on the severity of the jarandtemporary or permanent deformation of parts, the latch means may becomemomentarily ineffective, whereupon the door will, more likely than not,swing open, with grave danger to the occupants of the vehicle. It istherefore the object of the instant invention to ward off the likelihoodof unwarranted and accidental door opening when abnormal stresses andstrains are encountered when the vehicle is in motion, whereby tosafeguard the lives and limbs of otherwise helpless occupants.

To this end, the present invention therefore appertains to an improvedcombination characterized by a body structure embodying an entrance andexit opening having a fixed door jamb, a door hingedly mounted on saidbody structure and having a free edge portion swingable to a positionopposed in mating prox- 'imity to said jamb whereby to close saidopening, and safety retaining means for said door, when closed,comprising a male coupling unit fixed to said jamb, and a femalecoupling unit fixed to said free edge in operative alignment with saidmale unit, said units being connectible and releasable in a normaldirection and manner to allow the door to open and close, as usual, butbeing incapable of pulling apart and uncoupling in directionsperpendicular to said first mentioned direction, whereby to preventdangerous parting of the jamb from the door if temporarily orpermanently sprung or deformed beyond intended limits by sudden shock,collision, or otherwise.

, Another phase of the invention has to do with the retainer means byitself; namely, a male coupling .unit comprising an attaching plateadapted to be fixedly 'inounted'on a door jamb, said plate beingprovided on one "face with a horizontally elongated keeper T-shaped incross-section and embodying a shank at right angles named plate having ahorizontal slot T-shaped in crosssection and open at its ends, saidkeeper being: slidingly keyed in said slot. I,

/ Then, too, novelty is predicated on the above structural adaptationwherein the leading end of the head is formed with a cam surface, saidsecond named plate having a socket at right angles to and communicatingwith the keyway or slot, and a spring pressed latch bolt slidablymounted in the socket and normally projectinginto the slot and having acam surface cooperable with the first mentioned cam surface, whereby theretainer also includes as a feature, the added latch andmakes itpossible to substitute this latch-equipped retainer for the usual latchmeans should manufacturers decide to dispense with the latter andsubstitute the improved device therefor.

Other objects, features and advantages will become more readily apparentfrom the following description and the accompanying sheet of drawings.

In the drawings, wherein like numerals are employed to designate likeparts throughout the same:

Figure l is a fragmentary View on a small scalefshowing a portion of avehicle body, the door jamb, the door, and the improved safety-type,latch-equipped door retainer means and its manner of application anduse;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary sectional and elevational view takenapproximately on the horizontal line 2-2 of Figure 4; I

Figure 3 is a section at right angles taken on the plane of the line 33of Figure 2, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 4 is a section on the vertical line 44 of Figure 3, looking inthe direction of the arrows;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the aforementioned male coupling orretainer unit; and

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the companion or complemental femalecoupling latch-equipped unit;

With reference to Figure l, the body structure is denoted generally bythe numeral 8 and this has an entrance and exit opening which is adaptedto be closed by the usual horizontally swinging, hingedly mounted door10. The free swinging edge 12 of the door becomes contiguous to the doorjamb 14 in the usual manner. The surfaces of the free edge and door jambare, of course, provided with suitable indentations or formations 16 and17 to properly seat and house the members or units which go to make upthe safety retainer, and these parts occupy the positions clearly shownin the drawings. The male coupling and keeper unit is denoted, by thenumeral 18 in Figure 5 and comprises the flat rectangular attachingplate 20 with holes 22. to accommodate the fastenings which secure itfirmly in place. The headed T-shaped complement is denoted generally bythe numeral 24 and it comprises a somewhat rectangular flat faced head26 in spaced parallelism to the plate and joined to the plate by a shankor stem portion 28. One end provides a stop shoulder, as at 30, and theother end is formed into a latch lifting cam 32. The corresponding endof the shank is also curved appropriately, as at 34.

The female coupling unit is denoted by the numeral 36 and it too,comprises a rectangular attaching plate which appears as a thickrectangular block, relatively speaking. The horizontal keyway portion isa slot which is open ended and T-shapedin cross-sectionand denoted bythe numeral 38. The narrow entranoe opening All) thereof, actuallydefines a pair of retaining flanges 42-42 with which the upper and lowerprojecting edge portions of the head 26 have interlocking engagement.The numerals 44 designate holes for fastenings which serve in an obvioumanne Ihere is v rti a p a ormed in theblock, as, best shown in Figure4, and this consti-. tutes a socket, 46, for the head portion 48 of thespring pressed latch bolt. The head of the bolt which pro jects into thekeyway 38, has a cam surface 50 for proper releasing coaction with thecam surface 32. When the door closes and the units are matchinglyaligned, the cam SuIfEtC S Serve to lift the latch temporarily until itagain recedes into its locking position behind the shoulder 30, asbrought out in Figures 3 and 4. There is a cover plate 52 for the socket4.6, a fastening 54 and a coil spring 56. The stern or shank 58 projectsabove the cover plate 52 through an opening therein and has an eye 60 toaccommodate meansfor linking an operating link or lever 62 thereto,which is used for remote Con". trol in lifting the latch andperrnittingnormal sliding release of the unit 36 from. the unit 18 in a ratherobvious mannerv It will be clear that when the door is swung from rightto left, that is, from the partially open position, seen in Figure l,the spring-pressed latch bolt on the then leading end of the female unit36 will engage its cam 50 with the cam 32 of the stationary keeper headWhereupon said latch will be lifted and said keeper head, will thenslide into the keyway or T-shaped slot 38. When the door is fullyclosed, the latch will drop down behind the shoulder to perform itslatching accomplishment. It is to be pointed out here that it is withinthe purview of the over-all invention to actually dispense with thelatch and to consider the invention as directed to the interlockingcoupling units 18 and 36 which prevent the jamb from pulling away fromthe door, or vice versa, in case of abnormal or accidental deformationeither temporary or permanent. Since however, it may be desired to usethis device as both a safety retainer or coupling device as well aslatching means, the latch is preferably included. This makes it possibleto substitute the present invention for regular latch means, of varyingtypes, employed on automobile door constructions. It is repeatedtherefore, that this is a safety life preserving retainer and latchconstruction designed to prevent antomobile doors from coming open inall types of accidents by preventing the post or jamb and door fromspreading apart when, by sudden shock or jar, subjected to eitherpermanent or temporary distortion.

As stated, the invention may be installed in place of standard equipmentlatch means or can be installed as an auxiliary safety device. It willserve, it is believed, to prevent a high percentage of automobilefatalities. The operating link means may be raised with conventionaldoor handle or bell crank arrangement or in other numerous waysdepending upon the type of automobile construction or other mechanismswhich will necessarily have to be taken into account.

lt'is believed that the invention is characterized by the prerequisites.of simplicity, economy, efficiency and operation and that its over-allconstruction is such as to meet the requirements of manufacturers andneeds of users, generally speaking.

From the foregoing, the construction and operation of the device will'bereadily understood and further explanation is believed to beunnecessary. However, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction shown and described, andaccordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resortedto, falling within the scope of the app n e aim What is claimed as, newis as-follows:

1. As a new article of manufacture, a male coupling unit comprising anattaching plate adapted. tov be fixedly mounted on a door jamb, .saidplate, being provided. on one face with a horizontally disposed andelongated keeper which is T-shaped in cross-section and embodies a shankextending at right angles from said plate and a head on said shank inspaced parallelism with said face, said shank being rectangular incross-section, said head being also rectangular in cross-section, havingspaced parallel upper and lower longitudinal edges and leading andtrailing transverse edges, said leading transverse edge being arcuatelysloped fro-m the upper longitudinaledgeto the lower longitudinal edgeand providing a cam surface and said trailing edge being verticallydisposed and providing a stop shoulder, a companion female coupling unitcomprising a plate conformable in size and shape with said first plateand adapted to be fixed to the free edge portion of a door, that face ofsaid second plate which is opposed to the complemental face of the firstnamed plate having a horizontally disposed slot which is T-shaped incross-section and open at its respective ends, said slot being of thesame cross-sectional dimension from end to end, the head of said keeperfitting into said slot snugly but slidably and the longitudinal edgesthereof having sliding contact with the corresponding upper and lowerlongitudinal walls of said slot, said head being of a length appreciablyless than the length of the slot,;said second named plate having avertical socket at right angles to and communicating with said slotintermediate the open ends of said slot, and a spring-pressed latch bolthaving a head portion rectangularin cross-section slidingly operable insaid socket and normally projecting into an end portion of said slot andhaving a cam surface cooperable with the first mentioned cam surface andhaving a vertical shoulder slidingly and firmly engaging theaforementioned stop shoulder, said latch bolt head being in alignmentwith said keeper head, the cross-sectional area of said latch head beinggreater than the cross-sectional area of said keeper head.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a male coupling unit comprising anattaching plate adapted to be fixedly mounted on a door jamb, said platebeing provided on one face with a horizontally disposed andelongatedkeeper which is T-shaped in cross-section and embodies a shankextending at right angles from said plate and a headon'said shank inspaced parallelism with said one face, said shank being rectangular incross-section, said head being also rectangular in cross-section, havingspaced parallel upper and lower longitudinal edges and leading andtrailing transverse edges, said leading transverse edge being arcuatelysloped from the upper longitudinal edge to the lower longitudinal edgeand providing a cam surface and said trailing edge being verticallydisposed and providing a stop shoulder, a companion female coupling unitcomprising a plate conformable in size and shape with said first plateand adapted to be fixed to the free edge portion of a door, that face ofsaid second plate which is opposed to the complemental one face of thefirst named plate having a horizontally disposed slot which is T-shapedin cross-section and open at its respective ends, said slot being of thesame crosssectional dimension from end to end, the head of said keeperfitting into said slot snugly but slidably and the longitudinal edgesthereof having sliding contact with the corresponding upper and lowerlongitudinal walls of said slot, said head being of a length appreciablyless than the length of the slot, the upper portion of said second platebeing provided with a vertical passage between the median portion andone end portion of said T-shaped slot, one end of said passage openinginto said slot and the other end opening through an upper longitudinaledge ofsaid plate and providing a socket, a cover plate secured to saidupper edge and covering said socket having an aperture therein, a latchbolt having a head portion slidingly mounted in said socket and also insaid T-shaped Slot, said, head being provided with a stern exreading,,sli, in v up. h ough ai ocket and th o gh and above the aperture in thecover plate, a coil spring surrounding said stern and operable in saidsocket and bearing at one end against said cover plate and at itsopposite end against said head, one vertical edge of said head providinga shoulder and cooperating with the aforementioned stop shoulder, theother vertical edge being arcuately formed and providing a cam surfacewhich is cooperable with the first named cam surface, said latch bolthead being in alignment with said keeper head when the two are incooperative latching relationship.

3. As a new article of manufacture, a male coupling unit comprising anattaching plate adapted to be fixedly mounted on a door jamb, said platebeing provided on one face with a horizontally disposed and elongatedkeeper which is T-shaped in cross-section and embodies a shank extendingat right angles from said plate and a head on said shank in spacedparallelism with said one face, said head having spaced parallel upperand lower longitudinal edges and leading and trailing transverse edges,said leading transverse edge being arcuately sloped rom the upperlongitudinal edge to the lower longitudinal edge and providing a camsurface and said trail ing edge being vertically disposed and providinga stop shoulder, a companion female coupling unit comprising a plateadapted to be fixed to the free edge portion of a door, that face ofsaid second plate which is opposed to the complemental one face of thefirst named plate having a horizontally disposed slot which is T-shapedin cross-section and open at its respective ends, said slot being of thesame cross-sectional dimension from end to end, the head of said keeperfitting slidably into said slot and being of a length appreciably lessthan the length of the slot, the upper portion of said second platebeing provided with a vertical passage at right angles to and situatedbetween the median portion and one end portion of said T-shaped slot,one end of said passage opening into said slot, a latch bolt sl-idinglymounted in said passage and also in said T-shaped slot, said latch bolthaving a stem extending slidingly up through said passage, a coil springsurrounding said stem and operable in said passage and bearing at oneend against said latch bolt, said latch bolt having vertical edges andone vertical edge cooperating with the aforementioned stop shoulder, andthe other vertical edge being arcuately formed and providing a camsurface which is cooperable with the first named cam surface.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS854,854 Thomas May 28, 1907 915,873 Mosher Mar. 23, 1909 1,192,733Bennett July 25, 1916 1,262,054 Johnson et all Apr. 9, 1918 1,594,084Weymann July 27, 1926 FOREIGN PATENTS 502,135 Germany July 9, 1930

